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Derick meets the Harpers and takes on Erica and Allison
He certainly knows how to begin his work......and to hit the ground running! Attorney Derick Steensland meets his new clients, Dylan Harper and his spouse, Adam and immediately begins taking on the wicked Erica Harper and her equally conniving ally, Allison Wentzel Watkins, who goes back to Utica. Also making their first bows in Boston are probate attorney Anngelique Minzell, her extremely sensitive youngest brother, Jamie Minzell; their other brother, Jeff Minzell and the bane of her existence, her ex-husband, AJ Crawford, all in this episode of Harpers Falls: New Beginnings. Scene One Background: Louisburg Square. A young man, dressed smartly enough to look as if he fit into the area, is trying to find a townhouse. He is a man on a mission. Enter Marta Harper, who sees that the man needs help. MARTA: Hello there, can I help you? YOUNG MAN: Yes, I hope someone can. I am looking for 6 Mount Vernon Street. MARTA: Right over there, on the corner of Louisburg Square and Mount Vernon. YOUNG MAN: Thank you. MARTA: Definitely. What brings you here? YOUNG MAN: I am looking for a man named Dylan Harper. I was recently hired as the personal attorney for him and his family. MARTA: That's right. My brother in law, Michael Harper, Dyl's father, said that a new personal attorney had been named for him. You must be that person. YOUNG MAN: Yes, ma'am I am. My name is Derick. Derick Steensland. MARTA: Very nice to meet you, sir, I am Marta Harper. Dyl's my nephew via marriage. His uncle Aaron is my husband. DERICK: A lot of Harpers live around here, yes? MARTA: We're all over this area. We are quite the tribe. Most of us live here in Beacon Hill, but we live in other parts of Boston. DERICK: What makes his house stand out? MARTA: See over on the Pinckney Street side of the Square? Directly across the way is Dylan's parents, my in-laws, Michael and Wendy Harper. You walk along the side of the square, and there you would be. DERICK: I am also the children's attorney. How many kids does he have? MARTA: Twins. He has twin children, Derek and Ashley. DERICK: That's right. They were adopted right? MARTA: Yes. Their grandparents were old friends of the family. DERICK: Oh, here it is. Some lovely bushes here. MARTA: Those are Dylan's lilac bushes. He planted them himself. He is very proud of them. DERICK: Thank you, Mrs. Harper. MARTA: You are quite welcome. Have a lovely day. (Derick walks to the door and rings the doorbell.) Scene Two Background: The Ritz-Carlton in the Back Bay. Allison and Erica are seething with rage. They were released from jail and they are angry as all get out. ALLISON: I will make Wendy Harper pay for this! And YOU too! ERICA: Quit blaming me, Wentzel! You overdid it again! You have only instigated more animus! ALLISON: You were the one who insisted on going to see your stupid nephew. (Erica slaps Allison hard) ERICA: Don't you dare call my nephew stupid. ALLISON: You are the stupid one. You want to do an end run around probate and snatch their fortune from underneath them. ERICA: That is not your concern! ALLISON: It should be your concern! You know the rest of your family will stop it! ERICA: They will come around, I know they will! ALLISON: I don't buy that. And I know you don't believe it either. ERICA: You don't understand. They can't manage the money! I am the only one who can! ALLISON: You won't have a chance! ERICA: Ha, we'll see! ALLISON: I don't think so. ERICA: They will see that I can manage the money, but nobody said I would be helping the family! (Allison is sickened. She is realizing that Erica would take her own family and cast them out on the streets!) ALLISON: You're bananas, you know that?! No, you're not just bananas, you're just damned sadistic! ERICA: I deserve that money! Nobody else does! ALLISON: No, I will not allow that. I am leaving Boston, for GOOD! ERICA: It doesn't matter! I am going to get that fortune, and nobody will stop me! ALLISON: No, I am going to stop you! Right NOW! (She grabs her cell phone) Hello. police? This is Allison Wentzel. Erica Harper is in my room and she is trying to rob me! Have her arrested at once! ERICA: You stupid BITCH! (The two women erupt into another catfight!) Scene Three The area around Kenmore Square in the Back Bay area. A woman who seems to not have a care in the world is walking around the area. She is either a tourist (the area around Fenway Park is usually very touristy) or a newcomer to the area. Sheila McAllister, who herself moved to Boston from Connecticut is momentarily taken aback, but she looks and she is stunned. It is an old friend of hers named Anngelique Minzell. SHEILA: Anngelique! Anngelique Minzell! ANNGELIQUE: Yes, who are....? Oh my! Sheila?! Sheila McAllister?! Is that YOU?! SHEILA: Yes! (The two girls hug one another.) ANNGELIQUE: You look beautiful! SHEILA: Thank you, so do you. What brings you to Boston? ANNGELIQUE: I live here now. SHEILA: You DO? That is fantastic! Where? ANNGELIQUE: I live over on Queensberry Street here in the Fens area. SHEILA: What happened to AJ, your husband? ANNGELIQUE: He is old news. I divorced him four years ago. SHEILA: You divorced him? What did that swine do? ANNGELIQUE: Remember before you moved to Boston the night we went out to the Shoreline Restaurant? You, me, AJ, Jamie, Craig and the Ameses? Adam was busy flirting with our waitress. And he did it quite brazenly. It was for my brother's anniversary with his husband, and AJ was acting like a swine. SHEILA: Who could blame you for getting mad at him! ANNGELIQUE: And now, from what I am hearing, that pig is moving to Boston himself! From what I have heard, he is looking for an apartment on Commonwealth Avenue! SHEILA: Commonwealth?! That isn't too far from here! He has to be crazy! ANNGELIQUE: I swear, I divorced him four years ago, and he is still hanging around me like an albatross! SHEILA: He has to be STUPID to move here. ANNGELIQUE: I am not worried. It's a big city, I can lose him here easily. SHEILA: That is right. So what are you doing now? ANNGELIQUE: I am a probate attorney, also I was hired as the in-house attorney for Sheila Watkins Designs. SHEILA: That is marvelous. The Harpers are good people. ANNGELIQUE: They are indeed. SHEILA: Need some lunch, Angie? ANNGELIQUE: I would love some. Let's go. (Anngelique and Sheila walk along towards Kenmore Square) Scene Four Louisburg Square, a few minutes after Derick talked with Marta. Dylan's townhouse. Derick is waiting at the door. Sheila Watkins opens the door. SHEILA: Hi there, you must be Mr. Steensland. I am Sheila Watkins, Dylan's cousin. DERICK: Yes, very nice to meet you, Ms. Watkins. SHEILA: Come on in. Dylan is in his study. He will be with you momentarily. Do you want anything to drink? DERICK: No thank you, but I appreciate it. SHEILA: I will send him along. (Sheila exits. Derick waits, then Dylan comes in.) DYLAN (grinning): Sorry, Mr. Steensland, I was busy with the cook getting the menu ready for dinner. Hope I didn't keep you waiting long. DERICK: No, that is fine. I can understand running a house like this would be a massive undertaking. DYLAN: Thank you. As you guessed, my former personal attorney, Martin Donaldson, is now the head of the legal department of my family's company in London, and as such, Adam and I were looking all over for a new personal attorney. You would be working sometimes in tandem with our own overall family attorney, Camilla Abbott. And sometimes you and I will work together on some cases. Although I myself am an attorney, I would be only in an advisory capacity. DERICK: That is good. I am in approval of that. DYLAN: I was hoping you would say that. Sorry for putting you right to work straightaway, but these are unusual times and we have an unusual issue to deal with. Right now, our major issue is a situation with my Aunt Erica. She has been attempting to make several end runs around Probate court to try to strip the family fortune from everyone, so she herself can take full possession of it. Nothing any of us have done has stopped her, and even Camilla is at a loss for ideas. Maybe you have some ideas that nobody else has thought of. DERICK: I heard something about that. Diana Allerton told me about it and yet I wasn't sure what to make of it. But this will surely help you. I talked with a new attorney in town, named Anngelique Minzell, whose speciality is Probate law, and she is also coming in on the case. DYLAN: That is splendid. I have heard of her. She has an excellent track record. She is a powerhouse in Probate court, and she can stop the most fearsome conniver. And Erica seems to be a very incorrigible opponent. DERICK: You know your aunt better than anyone else. DYLAN: I have often wondered. But you know, what you just said, may be some good food for thought. You really are gonna be a great personal lawyer. Now, I think you should go and meet Adam and the kids. DERICK: I would like that. (Dylan and Derick go to the dining room, where Derick meets Adam and the kids) Scene Five A condo building on Commonwealth Avenue. A young man named AJ Crawford is coming out of the building. He is dressed, quite conservatively for his tastes, as he is ready to go to work. He is handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes, although he would be more at home in a California beach house than he would in Boston. Some hours after he had finished his meeting with Derick Steensland, Dylan is walking towards the Top of the Hub for a late business dinner. DYLAN: May I help you? AJ: I am looking for WBOS-TV. Where is it? DYLAN: It is over on Mass Avenue. Why do you ask? AJ: It is where I work now. DYLAN: You have a lot of good people to work with there. AJ: Really? DYLAN: Yes. My brother in-law owns the station; my second cousin is the station manager; and my sister is the news director. AJ: Family owned? DYLAN: You have no idea. AJ (smiling): Wait a minute, aren't you Dylan Harper? DYLAN: Yes, I am. AJ: I remember you! You often visited Choate-Rosemary Hall did you not? DYLAN (now he remembers who he is): Yes, I did. Every vacation as a matter of fact. Barry Harper, my best friend and now adopted brother, went there. I almost did, but my mother had me go to the boarding school my family owned. AJ: I remember Barry telling me that. We hung out once at the Dining Hall. DYLAN (brightly): Yes, I do remember that now. You, Barry and I went to eat dinner there the two weeks I was visiting, for Spring Break, when we were sophomores. (The two old friends hug one another) AJ: How have you been, buddy? DYLAN: Doing well, AJ. Been married now about a year. AJ: Wow! What hot guy snared you? DYLAN: A guy named Adam Mathison from Pennsylvania. We have two adopted kids. AJ: I remember that. Barry told me that. He loves his niece and nephew. DYLAN: What about you? What have you been doing? Are you married? AJ: I was married when I was first in college. Her name is Anngelique Minzell. We're no longer married. She and I broke up after about six years. DYLAN: Why is that? AJ: Because I cheated on her, quite often in fact. DYLAN: Wow, why? AJ: Sometimes, she would drive me crazy! DYLAN: Wow! Well, I am going to a business dinner, I have to meet Adam at Top of the Hub. AJ: I have to get to work, myself. Good to see you again, Dyl. We have to get together sometime. DYLAN: And you too. I think we can arrange that. (The two go their separate ways. AJ is inpressed. If Dylan hadn't been with Adam, AJ would have clearly fallen for him. But he was also straight although he was no longer sure. He also wants to rekindle his friendship with Adam, Dylan and Barry.) Scene Six Top of the Hub. Adam and Dylan are talking with Anngelique and Derick to plan their first move against Erica. ANNGELIQUE: I heard you came across my ex-husband today. DYLAN: Yes, he was an old classmate of my adopted brother, Barry. ANNGELIQUE: Oh yes, I do remember. He is a close friend of my brother, Jeff. He also was close with my younger brother, Jamie. I bet he called me Minzell the Mouth. DYLAN: Whoo, you two must really hate each other. ANNGELIQUE: Yes, I do hate him. Our relationship is combat. DYLAN: What happened? ANNGELIQUE: We were at a restaurant, celebrating my brother Jamie's anniversary with his husband. DYLAN: Wait a second, Jamie Danvers, the screenwriter, is your brother? ANNGELIQUE: Yes, he is. DYLAN: He is an awesome screen writer. ANNGELIQUE (grinning): I will let him know that. ADAM: What did he do? ANNGELIQUE: He was flirting with our waitress! DYLAN: That is terrible. ANNGELIQUE: I was so mad at him that I filed the papers myself. But that is for another time. On to the task at hand. We need to stop Erica and her constant attempts to end run the family. ADAM: What kind of issues do we have with Erica and how could she get at the fortune? ANNGELIQUE: That is hard to say. She has a bit of entitlement issues. Has she always been this way? DYLAN: Somewhat. She has always been more entitled than anyone. According to my dad and my aunts and uncles. ANNGELIQUE: Why is she aiming squarely at you? DYLAN: As always, like with most of our enemies, she sees me as the weakest link in the family chain. She thinks with me down and out, that the rest of the family will be sufficiently weakened so she can take a good shot at the fortune. With me out of the way, she would see the rest of the family as easy pickings. Already once, she tried to kill me, by having a flunky of her's pose as my grandfather and had him try to weaken me that way. ANNGELIQUE: Did it work? DYLAN: Thankfully, no. Erica was exposed, and the flunky was arrested for good. He is now in prison in Worcester, and won't be out. ANNGELIQUE: That is good that he is out of commission. But That WOULD be a problem if she tried that trick again. The only solution that I can see is to strengthen that and make it harder for Erica to try to eliminate you. ADAM: How do we do that? ANNGELIQUE: You leave that to us. We will figure that out. And don't worry, Dyl. I know your history with my ex-husband. I know you two were old friends, and I remember that he told me about who you were. When he and I weren't fighting, we talked about our old friends. And he thinks highly of you and the rest of your family. He isn't a bad guy, but he and I fight all the time. ADAM: Understandable. I hope you don't mind me asking him to come and baby sit the kids sometimes. DYLAN (astonished): When did you meet him? ADAM: I saw him over at the public gardens. He strikes me as all right. ANNGELIQUE: I think that would be fine. The less I see of him, and the more you keep him busy, the better. (The group begin their dinner and their plan to stop Erica.) Scene Seven WBOS-TV. Craig Atchley, the owner of the station, is talking to AJ Crawford. CRAIG: Your resume seems to be very well done. A good amount of time at the Yale TV station. AJ: Yes, it is. I was best known for investigative reporting. CRAIG: I can see that. Your story on the corruption in the Yale Athletic program was very well received. Won you a Pulitzer, yes? AJ: Yes, it did. CRAIG: My sister in-law has the final say in it, of course, since she is the News Director. I am only the owner of the station, and Rosemary's cousin, Caitlyn Lambert is the station manager. They will have something to say about it. AJ: Understood. CRAIG: I have faith in you. And you do have very good credentials. I think it will be a cinch to say you will be hired. (Enter Caitlyn and Rosemary. They had been discussing the new hire.) CAITLYN: Rosemary and I agree. He does bring a good amount of prestige. ROSEMARY: I believe he would be a good asset to the station. CRAIG: You have convinced me. AJ, welcome to WBOS. (AJ is thrilled) Scene Eight The Ritz-Carlton. Allison and Erica are still fighting. ALLISON: You will pay for this! ERICA: You stupid bitch! ALLISON: I am not stupid! ERICA: You are indeed stupid! ALLISON: Who do you think YOU are?! ERICA: Someone who wants to make sure that the Harpers are respected! ALLISON: On whose terms, YOURS?! ERICA: YES! Mine! My terms are the ONLY terms that matters! ALLISON: You have NO standing! Dylan has survived you, in spite of it. ERICA: I will redouble my efforts, and I will eliminate him, for GOOD! (Enter Anngelique and Derick, they are both furious.) DERICK: Not quite, Ms. Harper! ANNGELIQUE: You will not even go NEAR your nephew, you are under a permanent restraining order. (Allison smiles wickedly as her scheme against Erica is bearing fruit) ERICA: What the hell do you mean? Who filed this?! ANNGELIQUE: I believe your aunt Patricia Wheeler filed it. She wanted it to have teeth! ERICA: That witch! When I get my hands on her...! ANNGELIQUE: That will NOT be an option for you, Ms. Harper. You have been effectively banned from the Beacon Hill area! ERICA: What the HELL do you mean by that?! I have family there! DERICK: A family who wants NOTHING to do with you! They want you away from them, for good! ERICA: How can they? I am doing this out of love for them! ANNGELIQUE: You are not! All you want is greed and power! That is all you care about! ERICA: Only I can manage the Harper fortune! You know I can! ANNGELIQUE: I am warning you, Ms. Harper, you break this restraining order, you will be in jail for good! (Derick and Anngelique stormed out. Erica is shocked, Allison is gleeful!) ALLISON: I told you! You try to mess with your family, you will get burned! ERICA: You stupid bitch! You did this! This was YOUR scheme, ALL of it! ALLISON: That's right, you stupid woman! I was the one who did this! I aim to stop you, and I mean to! It's the least I can do for the Harpers after all I have done to Sheila and the rest of my family! The only thing is, I am going to do this from Utica! ERICA: What are you saying? ALLISON: I am leaving. And I am never coming back to Boston. ERICA: I will have you destroyed! And you would be wise to STAY out of Boston! I will destroy you and THEN I will walk onto Louisburg Square as bold as brass, and stop my nephew! (Enter the police. Allison is escorted out of the room, and is sent to the airport, where she boards a plane for Utica, New York and never returns to Boston again! Erica is sent off to jail!) Scene Nine Dylan's townhouse. DERICK: Thanks for walking back with me, Dylan. I haven't even unpacked my luggage. Hell, I've not even had a chance to FIND a place. I've been living in the Fairmount Copley Plaza. ADAM: That is awful. You've not had any chance to find a place? DERICK: Nope, I moved from New Brunswick right off the bat, kind of the minute the summons came. DYLAN: Wow. No real chance to find a place? DERICK: Nope. No chance. ADAM: I think we can help. DERICK: How? DYLAN: There is a huge room, with your name on it. DERICK: I am pleased, but isn't the house full enough as it is? ADAM: Nonsense. There is PLENTY of room. Sheila, Allen, their daughter; our kids; Audra, Shawn, Libby, Dylan and I, we do all right. There is a lot of room. DERICK: Thank you guys. ADAM: We will make arrangements to get your things in the morning. Now, you need some rest. Dylan and I have some sleep clothes that will fit you, and you need some rest. (Derick, thrilled, goes into his new home, with his two new roommates.) Scene Ten Anngelique's home in the Fens. It is after nine, and she is relaxing with a good drink. ANNGELIQUE: How COULD AJ be here? At least he has his new job to keep him busy and can leave me alone, that is for sure. (Anngelique's cell phone rings. She answers) ANNGELIQUE: Anngelique Minzell. (she listens, her eyes growing wide with horror.) Calm down, Jamie, honey. What happened? Where are you? At home? OK. What do you mean Craig's dead? (She listens to her near collapse brother.) Ok, ok, sweetheart, calm down. Have the police been there? OK. You told them what happened right? It's all right. I will call Jeff. He will be there for you too. I will call AJ and see if we can't get you here to Boston. I live here now. Maybe he can take you in, ok? Let me call him. Don't worry, baby bro, I will call you right back. Hang on, sweetie. (She sets her cell phone down and picks up her telephone. She looks up AJ's number. She calls him.) AJ: Well, well, what do we owe the pleasure?! ANNGELIQUE (tersely): Zip it, Johnny Boy! We have major league trouble! AJ (amused): What trouble?! You out of hair spray?! ANNGELIQUE (her concern for Jamie evident): No, you idiot! Now will you shut up a minute? I just got a call from Jamie! He is near collapse. Craig has died! AJ (really worried now): Oh NO! What happened? ANNGELIQUE (pained): I don't know. Jamie is in near hysterics, he is so upset that he couldn't even tell me. Do you THINK you can call in a one way ticket for him to come to Boston? AJ: Of course I will, dear. When do you want me to do that? ANNGELIQUE: Right after we get done talking. Jamie is on my cell. He needs us. AJ: I will do that, right now. And I will also have him move in with me. ANNGELIQUE (relieved): Good, I was hoping you would say that. I don't have the room here, otherwise I would have him move in with me. AJ: Of course. I will have him on the next red eye. Maybe I can have Dylan, Barry and the others help him get his things. ANNGELIQUE (impressed in spite of herself): Good idea. I will talk to him. Meanwhile, you call in the ticket; and call Dylan and Barry. They can make arrangements. I am going to call Jeff, and see if he can help him out in Los Angeles. I think he lives in Pasadena. Jeff couldn't take him in. His harridan wife said some things about him and one of his screenplays. Jeff never forgave her for it. AJ: Do you want me to call Dylan and Adam? ANNGELIQUE: Yeah, that will help too. Maybe they have an idea. Better still, let's go to their townhouse. AJ: So, a truce? ANNGELIQUE (grimacing): Yes, a truce, since you are friends with Dylan, Barry and my brother. (A few hours later, Dylan's townhouse. The house is mobilized into action.) SHEILA: I have called a mover in Los Angeles. ALLEN: I have arranged for them to bring his things to your condo, AJ. AJ: That is good. ANNGELIQUE: I called Jeff. He is coming with Jamie. I don't want him alone, especially now. DYLAN: That is a good idea. I had one of our corporate jets fly to Los Angeles. Hannah has a limo waiting at Logan Airport for when they arrive. She will call us when they get to Boston. The limo will bring them here to the townhouse first. We will take care of things in the morning. Has Jeff said he is moving here too, Anngelique? ANNGELIQUE: He is divorced from Julia that awful wife of his! He moved into the Beverly Hotel, and then he was planning on moving in with Jamie and Craig until this happened. ADAM: Then it is all the more imperative that we get Jamie here as soon as possible. DYLAN: Right, honey. And we really have to move. Time is of the essence. DERICK: It is a good thing the house is big. SHEILA: Yes, it is. Jamie needs help, and we aim to give it to him. (A few hours later, at Logan Airport. Jeff Minzell is escorting his broken hearted brother to the limo.) JEFF: We're under orders to go to a limo. Hannah Atchley is sending it for us. JAMIE (in tears): I hope we got everything done. JEFF: We did, honey. We got everything packed, well the movers that Sheila Watkins had set up did. They are driving here and should be at AJ's tomorrow. JAMIE: Where are we going? JEFF: Six Mount Vernon Street, over on Louisburg Square. The person who sent this knows where we're headed to. JAMIE: Who is helping us? JEFF: Anngie, and AJ. JAMIE: I thought AJ and Anngie were fighting. JEFF: They are, but they have put their differences aside to help you. JAMIE (beginning to cry again): I am so scared, Jeff. JEFF (wrapping his arm around his brother): I know, baby. We're gonna get things right here. (A few minutes later at Dylan's townhouse, a brokenhearted Jamie is in his sister's arms, sobbing) ANNGELIQUE: You're here now, sweetie, and you're safe. JAMIE: Thank you, sis. SHEILA: We have a guest room open for you, Jamie. Why don't you just go in and get some rest. You look exhausted. JAMIE: I am scared, Ms. Watkins. (Enter Audra and Shawn) SHAWN: What happened? AUDRA: Sounds like it's been a crisis here. SHEILA: It is. JEFF: Sorry for dumping ourselves on you all here. DYLAN: Nonsense, Jeff. We're here to help. You need help and we are here to help you out. JEFF: I brought some sedatives for Jamie, if he needs it. I am sure he will. AUDRA: Are there any refills on there? ANNGELIQUE: Yes, there are. Four of them. (she looks at her brother) Jamie, sweetie, we're getting you upstairs so you can sleep. Jeff will be here. I will be at my house, someone will call me if needed. OK? JAMIE: OK. I will be upstairs. JEFF: Thanks, sis. AJ: I think I will stay here too. DYLAN: Good idea, AJ. I will talk with my family, and we will get Jamie's things, and your things too, all set up. You let them know what you need to do. AJ: Thanks, I will call some people that I know, maybe they will know what happened to Craig. ANNGELIQUE: AJ, just see to Jamie. I will talk to him about it tomorrow. AJ: What do you mean? ANNGELIQUE: I found out on the news. Craig was murdered! By an attacker who knocked out Jamie, so mercifully, he did not see what happened. Jamie came to, saw Craig dead and he fell to pieces. AJ: Oh God, no! I am gonna see to him. (At that moment, Jamie screams) ANNGELIQUE: Oh my GOD! JEFF: What is it? SHEILA: Sounds like a nightmare. JEFF: It is, Ms. Watkins. SHEILA: Please, call me Sheila. JEFF: Sorry, Sheila. I am sorry we had to meet under such circumstances. SHEILA: It's all right. Your brother needs us. And it helps that we are there to help. (In the guest room, Jamie is crying; AJ, Anngelique and Jeff are trying to calm him down, while the rest of the group is offering their support. The scene fades) Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila Category:Episodes featuring Anngelique Minzell